Chenoa restaurant doubles size

Thursday

Jan 24, 2013 at 12:32 PMJan 24, 2013 at 12:35 PM

Cynthia Grau

The Chenoa Family Restaurant recently unveiled a new building to serve its customer’s needs.John Ajdini, who took over ownership 22 years ago after the Hen House closed, said he felt it was time for a new place for customers to come together and enjoy a meal.The original restaurant was built in the late 1960s or early 1970s, he noted.“We decided to build new last year,” Ajdini said. “We broke ground July 11. We opened Jan. 9. It was roughly about six months.”The new building seats about 200 people and includes a private party room that seats up to 50 people. “The old restaurant only sat about 100. We basically doubled our size,” he said. Ajdini said the transition from the old to new restaurant has been pretty smooth, especially with the addition of wait staff, totaling now 17 servers and five cooks, as well as himself and his business partner, Bashkim Gizha.“We hired some extra help and we always try to make everything homemade. We have homemade desserts. We used to buy them before from Chicago. Now, a local lady makes them and they’re wonderful,” he said.One of the things that Ajdini says has made the business successful in the town of Chenoa is that they keep everything the same.“We try for better but we try to keep the food the same. We don’t want the food to be really good one day and have it not as good the next day, when you bring your parents in after bragging about how good it is,” he said. “We’ve been here for 22 years and we’ve worked hard. The town has given us a warm welcome. We try to keep the prices reasonable.”Ajdini also said that he was swarmed with well wishes and compliments after the new restaurant opened.“Everyone is amazed how the place turned out. I think they did a good job. I believe the place looks happy. If I had to do it over again, I don’t know if I would have done anything differently. To me, it’s perfect the way it is,” he said.The restaurant is spacious, complete with booths, tables and even a fireplace on the north wall. There is even a display case with all of the homemade desserts at the front register to greet customers as they arrive.One of the biggest successes that the restaurant has had in its existence is the wide array of items available on its menu.“I believe we have the largest breakfast selection in Central Illinois. You have some Mexican breakfasts, Greek dishes, French crepes, omelets and skillets. We have a very large menu and we serve breakfast all day long. We do our own potatoes. We do everything here. Whatever we do, good or bad, we make it right here from scratch,” he said.Some of the menu favorites include liver and onions and fried chicken.“My menu gives a lot of options so everyone can find something they’d like. We can cater to pretty much whatever someone is hungry for,” he said.As for the old building, which sits directly to the west of the new one, Ajdini said that there haven’t been any definite plans as to its fate.The Chenoa Family Restaurant is located at the corner of Route 66 and Route 24 and is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.